Foot-actuated switch



"1,625,068 April 19 1927 c. L; woLFE ET AL FOOT ACTIATED SWITCH Filed May 19. 1924 Fiyi..

Patented Apr. 19, 19237.

UNTED STATES PAEENT CLNTON L. XVQLFE AND JGSEPH A. FAURT, QF NEW YORK, Ill Y.

FOOIACTUATED SW'ITCH.

Application filed May '5.9, 1924, Serial No, floh/L7..

,This invention relates to circuit closing' devices and particularly to a Jfoot actuated circuit closing;` arrangement which linde pai'- ticular utility in conne yion with the auto- .inatic door locking.: de' l e shown and uoscribed in our copeiidini; ainilication, Serial ho. ei'ifli. tiled luly 1.5",

rlhe inycntion is designed. particularly'lor use in tellers cages and cashiers booths in banks and other institutions. rlhe construction ot the invention oil'ers the possibility oi the saine being used as a 'foot rest by the teller or cashier.l the invention when thus usedv beingy inoperative as a signal actuatii'igg device. Howeveix the construction is such that the cashier or teller may, without any appreciable or noticeable movement or action, manipulate ther device to close a circuit, cai'isiin;Y an alarm or signal.

The invention ilurtlierinore contemplates the provision et means whereby the circuit losed by this device may be held closed unil released whereby :i signal or alarni niay il. 'inuously displayed or sounded until 'chef arrires or the device is reset.

The novel conibination, construction and arrangement oi. parts constituting our iinproi'ed invention will be more apparent as this description proceeds, especially When considered in connection with the accoinpanying drauinje's wherein:

Figure l is a :front elevation of a circuit closing` device constructed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View; and

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the plane indi-` cated by the line 3-3 in Figure l.

As stated hereinbetore, this invention finds particular utility in connection with the structure shown in our aforementioned copending application, still. as this description proceeds, it will be readily apparent that its use is not limited in this connection but that .it may be used With equal facility in rnany other Ways. Furthermore, While the foot actuated circuit closing' device described in our said copending application is eniifloyed to complete the circuit through the relay circuit breaker, this present invention inay obviously be arranged directly in the si gnal circuit and uponv actuation complete the circuit to the signal or alarin.

In the drawings it Will be noted that` the reference character l indicates the floor or base to which the device is attached.. the base carried by a rod 22 fixed plate ll of each oi' the supporting standards being secured to the floor or base l0 in any suitable nianner.

.Extending ui'in'ardly troni the base plate is a hollow .hou h' l2, which housing terniinates in a cylindrical enlargement 13 open at one side and adapted to be closed by a screw cap la. is will be ai'iparent, tivo or inore housings l2 are prel'erably employed and ii'iasn'iuch as the structures are practicall;r .identical only one oi the standards will be described in detail.

The reference character 'l5 :indicates a tubular bar constitutinnja root rest and con- .stitutingr 'further the means by'which the switch is actuated. This bar is mounted in brackets 1G, one of which brackets is pivotally mounted as at l? in each ot the standards. These brackets are preferably sub? stantially L-shaped, the depending leg i8 ther-cot' being arranged adiacent to and lonzgritudinally ot the associated standard. iri'anged vithin the hollow enlargen'ient 13 of 'the casing` isa pair oil Spring contacts 19 and 20, the Contact beine' ged by a shoe 2l to the leg 1S of the bracket. The contacts i9 and 2O are shown ot the push button type but obviously any suitable type of circuit closing' eleinents .may be employed in their stead. The contact Q0 is engaged by the shoe 2l and upon proper manipulation of the foot bar l5 is pressed toward the contact lf) for closing the circuit. Wires 23 are shown. which Wires will lead. to the relay circuit breaker or to the signal if this device isy placed directly in the signal circuit.

Each of the standards will preferably, al-

though notnecessarily be provided with the cylindrical enlargement i3 in which aA pair oit circuit closers will be position-ed and if such be the case the Wires troni one pair ot circuit closers to the other inay he conducted througrh a wire encasing tube 24. Therefore, it Will be necessary to maire but one opening` 25 through the base or Hoor l0.

Extending' betweenthe supporting standards and parallel with the toot bar 15 is a kick plate or abutment 2b vertically arranged and in position to be engaged bythe toe of the operator. The bar l5 is ordinarily eniployed as a toot rest, the operator placing his feet on top thereof. l/Vhen it is desired to operate the device the toe placed under the bar l5 and the saine is moved upwardly. lvithout this kick plate or abutinent it would Cil be possible to inadvertently actuate the device by forcing the toot too tar under the bar whereby the bar would be engaged by the top of the oot and be raised Sutticient to close the switches. However, owing to the provision ot this kick plate or abutnient, the insertion ot the operatofs foot inadvertently under the device is prevented and accidental closing ot the alarin circuit prevented.

Conteinplating the desiraliiitity and necessity of providing means tor maintaining the circuit closed after it has once been conipleted. we provide a latch 2T. the depeiulrng end 2S ot which is arranged within a guide housing 2S) within which there is also arranged a spring 30. The latch 27 slidably mounted and is constantlyurged in an upward direction by the spring 30. A knob 8l extending outwardly t'roni the latch QT through a slot 32 limits the niovenient ojt the latchfthe knob further providing means for releasing the latch when desir-ed. rThe active tace of the latch is beveled as at 323 and lis adapted to be forced under the depending leg 1S ot' the bracket 16 after the bar l5 has been raised. Consequently the bar will be held in its raised posit-ion while the switches will be held closed by reason thereot'. The bevel 33 oit the latch is such that. the latch inay be forced downwardly by a pressure on top of the foot bar l5 or the bar may be released by depressing the latch Q7 through the inediuni oit t-he knob 3l in which event the bar 15 will drop to inoperative position by gravity.

The provision of means whereby the circuit controlled by this device inay be held closed until released otfers the possibility of providing arrangements with the police authorities or other protective agency whereby false alarnis niay be rectitied. It would be possible to arrange that should the alarin be sounded 'tor long-er than a certain speciiicd period, the police should respond. In the event, however, that the signal was not sounded continuously for this period and over, the alarni would be considered a false one and response itroni the police would be unnecessary. Thus, if the device were inadvertently operated the mistake would be iin inediately detected at the institution at which this device is installed and the bar could be released, thusI breaking the circuit and cans ing the signal. to cease luiietioning. However, in the event tht` device was operated -tor cause and the signal or alarni set. in opcration and the teller or cashier then overpowered, the signal would continue to tune tion until relief wasy obtained.

rhe details of this invention have been described herein with soine particularity but it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that the device inay he associated with nunierous types" of signal arrangements and also thatthe details of construction herein shown niay be varied without departing itrorn the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claiin is:

1. A circuit closing device comprising a bar constituting a toot rest, a pair of supporting` standards. brackets pivotally inounted on said standards and swingingly supporting said bar, a circuit closing device actuated by one of said brackets when said bar is raised, one of said brackets being provided with a depending leg, a spring pressed latch inounted on one o1c said standards adjacent said leg and adapted to be toroed und-er said leg when said bar is raised whereby said bar inay be held in circuit closing position.

2. A circuit closing device in accordance with claim l in which the. surface of said latch which is forced under said depending leg is bevelled at such an angle thatl Vit will cause said latch to be forced from under said depending ineniber when said bar is :forced down.

The foregoing specitication signed at; lvoodhaven, New ,York city, N. Y., this 15th day of May, 1924.

CLINTON L. XVOLFE. JOSEPH A. FAUROT. 

